H/T One Old Vet
Much that is terrible has occurred since the Bush Amnesty/Immigration Surge effort was defeated in 2007, most importantly the unleashing of the unprecedented Treason Lobby cash avalanche for Amnesty by selfish Plutocrats. But a real positive has been the spirited deployment on the Patriotic side by the influential team at the Powerline blog. This is new, and vividly illustrates how the orthodox Republican base is eroding.
In May last year in Two Devastating Analyses Of Gang Bill (Bring Blood Pressure Meds). I noted
Over at Powerline, John Hinderaker, who has been so little involved in the issue that we have only once referenced him in all these years, has produced the terse, penetrating, and extremely powerful Why the Immigration Bill Can’t Be Fixed
And they have kept it up. I particularly liked Hinderaker’s explication of the Larger Population = More Prosperity fallacy as I noted in Powerline's Hinderaker: GDP Per Capita Key To Amnesty/Economic Growth Claim (Or, The Toilet Paper Fallacy)
Right now the group is having a discussion as to what is motivating the House GOP Leadership, summarized yesterday by Paul Mirengoff:
This morning, in a post called “What Are They Thinking?,” Scott asked the question about which speculation has become rampant: Why is the House leadership preparing to push for immigration reform that the base doesn’t want at a time when the GOP seems poised to make big gains in the upcoming election? Scott posits “stupidity.” John has posited “cupidity,”… In my view, these two explanations provide the answer, with “cupidity” serving up most of it.
The John Hinderaker essay linked to is commendably direct
…the principal reason the Republican House leadership is willing to take such terrible risks for the sake of bipartisan immigration legislation is that the party’s donors want it. The party’s leaders are faced with a stark choice between the wishes of the rank and file and those of the donor community, and they have chosen the donors.
...it seems that a majority of the party’s leaders, certainly in the House, are of the view that the main thing one needs to win elections is not principles, but money, and therefore the donors come first.
ON IMMIGRATION, WHAT’S THE HURRY? POWERLINE JANUARY 1, 2014
In this I believe Hinderaker is clinging (quite understandably for a long time loyalist) to a wistful delusion. The issue here is not cupidity but corruption. The House Leadership does not care about the election. The payoffs they have been promised are that large.
That is why the Breitbart article cited by Scott Johnson is so important. Did Showdown Kill Boehner's Immigration Dreams? By Jonathan Strong 31 Jan 2014 reported of the Cambridge MD “Retreat”
...it is hard to imagine Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) moving forward after yesterday's closed-door showdown. According to estimates from those who were in the room—both in favor of moving forward and against—the dozens of GOP lawmakers who spoke were at least 80-20 against bringing a bill to the floor this year.
There is a palpable sense of disappointment among those interested in moving forward.
There is a real chance of a helpful split amongst the GOP House delegation. The Leadership is clearly planning on a “cash out” strategy, heading off to their Sunbelt gated communities with their Amnesty pay-offs. For the Rank-and-File, with their seats endangered and the dreary career prospect of being condemned to perpetual Minority status by this Treason, the deal is not so great.
Nevertheless, I think Mirengoff is absolutely right in his assessment
…the GOP’s rush to sell out the party’s base, not to mention American workers, in order to service the interests of business won’t be halted by advocacy. Activism is required.
My sources on the Hill tell me that the best, and perhaps only, way to stop the amnesty express is through an outpouring of phone calls to one’s Republican congressman.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD ON AMNESTY Powerline January 31, 2014
